Washington (CNN) - After The New York Times published new allegations about Chris Christie and the George Washington Bridge scandal, the New Jersey governor launched a full-scale verbal assault on both the newspaper and the former Port Authority official, David Wildstein, making those claims.

In a response obtained Saturday by CNN, Christie rebuked Wildstein's claim the governor was aware of lane closures leading to the bridge - and jabbed at the ex-appointee's reputation.

(CNN)–The Gray Lady’s new leading lady is not raring for a fight… at least with Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington. On the day she was named the New York Times’ first woman executive editor, Jill Abramson spoke to CNN’s Jessica Yellin in an interview airing tonight on CNN's “John King, USA.”

This past spring, outgoing New York Times executive editor Bill Keller wrote a highly critical essay in the New York Times magazine comparing the Huffington Post’s aggregation to “piracy.” A back-and-forth between him and Huffington ensued.FULL POST

(CNN) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday strongly defended her party's support of the federal food stamp program - a day after former Republican Speaker Newt Gingrich argued that GOP candidates should use the growing number of people on food stamps against Democrats on the campaign trail.

At a press conference in her home town of San Francisco, Pelosi explained that the program's multiplier effect –the amount of money generated in the local economy as the result of the subsidy– far exceeds the nearly $60 billion spent this year by the federal government and is a sure-fire way to stimulate the economy. For every dollar a person receives in food stamps, Pelosi said that $1.79 is put back into the economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture cites an even higher figure of $1.84.FULL POST

A White House official is denying a report that claims the Obama administration considered a Tea-Party focused ad campaign. (PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images/File)

Washington (CNN) - A top White House official sharply denied a report that claims President Obama's political advisers are weighing a national television advertising campaign that would portray the Republican Party as dominated by Tea Party activists.

The article, published online in the New York Times on Sunday, says strategists are looking to capitalize on the inner-GOP sniping that has increased with the Tea Party's recent primary wins.

The tension was on full display over the weekend, with Delaware Senate primary winner Christine O'Donnell backing out of scheduled talk show appearances, and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski accusing the Tea Party Express of infusing money and lies into her Republican primary to swing it against her.

Sen. Michael Bennet is pushing back against a critical report published Friday in the New York Times.

(CNN) - A front page article in Friday's New York Times could spell trouble for Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, four days before he faces the test of voters in a competitive primary. But the senator and his campaign are pushing back hard against the article, which they consider one-sided and not accurate.

The story, headlined "Exotic Deals Put Denver Schools Deeper in Debt," reports that Bennet, who served as the superintendent of Denver's schools before being named to the Senate, persuaded school board members to strike a deal with Wall Street bankers two years ago to try and plug a $400 million hole in the school system's pension plan. Instead, the article alleges that deal, involving taking out high risk loans to cover mounting debt, "went awry" during the Wall Street collapse and eventually cost the school system millions of dollars.

"I know the New York Times is always looking to break a big story, but in this case, they just got it wrong. This story has been covered by local reporters who have provided more balanced, fair, and accurate coverage. The New York Times got caught up in a heated political primary where my opponent and his supporters have repeatedly tried to score points at the expense of kids and have once again disregarded the facts," says Bennet in a statement released by his campaign.

The senator adds that a report released last week by independent auditors indicates that Denver's schools are in "better financial shape than the rest of the state's pension system. Put simply, we left the district's pension in better shape than any other district in Colorado."

The New York Times is contesting Gov. David Paterson's claim he was the paper's source for a recent story.

(CNN) - The New York Times is contesting Gov. David Paterson's claim he was the paper's source for a recent story that ultimately led to an ethics investigation, the departure of top aides, and the abandonment of his election bid.

Paterson told New York radio station WOR Thursday that he was the person who informed the Times he interceded in an assault case involving his aide, David Johnson.

But in a blog post Thursday, Times reporters Danny Hakim and Nicholas Confessore say that's not true.

"In the course of reporting, The Times learned that the governor had called Ms. Booker, but that information did not come from the governor," wrote Hakim and Confessore.

The Times reporters also said the governor's office only acknowledged Paterson made the phone call after the paper informed them it had learned of the communication.

"The administration subsequently clarified that the call took place on Feb. 7, but it did so only after being told that The Times was aware that a telephone conversation between the governor and Ms. Booker had taken place," the reporters wrote.

The New York Times endored New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's re-election campaign Saturday.

NEW YORK (CNN)– The New York Times endorsed Mayor Michael Bloomberg's bid for a third term Saturday, praising his ability to handle the most difficult situations.

"Mr. Bloomberg has been a first-rate steady hand during unsteady times," an editorialin The Times said. "He guided the city out of the post-9/11 recession, then tucked away money during the boom years that followed. That foresight has helped New Yorkers weather one of the worst economic downturns in 80 years. Mayor Bloomberg has easily earned another four years."

The editorial commended Bloomberg's Democratic opponent, city Comptroller William Thompson, but said he has spent too much time attacking the New York Mayor, and too little time laying out his proposed policies for the city.

Bloomberg won a campaign last fall to allow for a third mayoral term.

While his favorability in the polls took a minor dip after he persuaded New York's city council to overturn the term limits, the latest poll conducted by Marist College show Bloomberg, an independent, with a 16-point lead over Thompson, 52-32 percent. Twelve percent of likely voters said they supported other candidates or remained undecided.

William Safire died in Maryland following a battle with pancreatic cancer, The New York Times reported.

(CNN) - William Safire, a New York Times columnist and former speechwriter for President Richard Nixon, has died, a spokeswoman for the Times said Sunday. He was 79, according to the newspaper.

Safire joined the Times as a columnist in 1973. In addition to his conservative news columns, which he wrote until 2005, he wrote a language column for the paper's Sunday magazine from 1979 until shortly before his death.

He won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 1978 for his columns on the travails surrounding Bert Lance, who resigned under fire as President Carter's budget director in 1977.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Damning new allegations about former Sen. John Edwards' extramarital affair are coming out - this time, the claims could spell the end of Edwards' political career.

While the U.S. has a tradition of forgiveness, politicians seem able to gain forgiveness from the public and come back after just about anything. As long as the offender apologizes, gets punished and seems to suffer along the way, they are forgiven.

Edwards admitted to having an affair with former 2008 presidential campaign worker Rielle Hunter. He did a mea culpa.